Be God's Representative To Your Children Proverb 22:6

We all learn from our parents, as do our children learn from us, as to how we should live our lives. It's just a matter of what example we as parents want our children to learn from. If parents live lives as we should, then we and our children will learn to live the same. If a parent cusses, cheats, do drugs, complains all the time, or never works. Well the chances are the children will do the same.

Throughout my life I have seen many who learned early that God is real, and Christ is the way to Him. Many like myself, fell away and lived a part of my life self indulging my own selfish desires. Eventually those who do as I did, will pay the price. It's just a matter of how far one goes down the wrong path before we cry for the One we know will save us. We know Who that one is, because of our early years when our parents taught us about Him. Then when we come home we are accepted as if we never left.

The Apostle John tells us in his Gospel that is Who God God is. A forgiving Father who gave His only Son so that we can be free from sin and condemnation.

"As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:14-17

A God who takes our sins and casts them so far away that they will never ever be put in our face to be shamed by. Psalms 103:12 tells us;

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

There is a beautiful song by Rodney Atkins called, "Watching You", that says it so well on how our children learn from us, and why we must be cognitive of what we do in front of them at all times. After all, we are God's representative to our children. We have been given a great responsibility. I thought I would share the lyrics with you below, or you can just watch the video and hear the song.

RODNEY ATKINS LYRICS "Watching You" Driving through town, just my boy and me With a Happy Meal in his booster seat Knowing that he couldn't have the toy 'til his nuggets were gone A green traffic light turned straight to red I hit my brakes and mumbled under my breath His fries went a-flying and his orange drink covered his lap Well, then my four-year-old said a four letter word That started with "s" and I was concerned So I said, "Son, now where'd you learn to talk like that?" [Chorus:] He said, "I've been watching you, dad. Ain't that cool? I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you. And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. We got cowboy boots and camo pants. Yeah, we're just alike. Hey, ain't we, dad? I wanna do everything you do. So I've been watching you." We got back home and I went to the barn I bowed my head and I prayed real hard Said, "Lord, please help me help my stupid self." Then this side of bedtime later that night Turning on my son's Scooby Doo nightlight He crawled out of bed and he got down on his knees He closed his little eyes, folded his little hands And spoke to God like he was talking to a friend And I said, "Son, now where'd you learn to pray like that?" [Chorus:] He said, "I've been watching you, dad. Ain't that cool? I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you. And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. We like fixing things and holding mama's hand. Yeah we're just alike. Hey, ain't we, dad? I wanna do everything you do. So I've been watching you." [Bridge:] With tears in my eyes I wrapped him in a hug Said, "My little bear is growing up." He said, "But when I'm big I'll still know what to do." [Chorus:] 'Cause I've been watching you, dad. Ain't that cool? I'm your buckaroo, I wanna be like you. And eat all my food and grow as tall as you are. By then I'll be strong as Superman. We'll be just alike. Hey, won't we, dad? When I can do everything you do, 'Cause I've been watching you."

Proverb 22 (NKJV)

Proverb 22

The Value of a Good Name
01 A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches,
00 Loving favor rather than silver and gold.

02 The rich and the poor have this in common,
00 The LORD is the maker of them all.

03 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself,
00 But the simple pass on and are punished.

04 By humility and the fear of the LORD
00 Are riches and honor and life.

05 Thorns and snares are in the way of the perverse;
00 He who guards his soul will be far from them.

06 Train up a child in the way he should go,
00 And when he is old he will not depart from it.

07 The rich rules over the poor,
00 And the borrower is servant to the lender.

08 He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow,
00 And the rod of his anger will fail.

09 He who has a generous eye will be blessed,
00 For he gives of his bread to the poor.

10 Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave;
00 Yes, strife and reproach will cease.

11 He who loves purity of heart
00 And has grace on his lips,
00 The king will be his friend.

12 The eyes of the LORD preserve knowledge,
00 But He overthrows the words of the faithless.

13 The lazy man says, "There is a lion outside!
00 I shall be slain in the streets!"

14 The mouth of an immoral woman is a deep pit;
00 He who is abhorred by the LORD will fall there.

15 Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child;
00 The rod of correction will drive it far from him.

16 He who oppresses the poor to increase his riches,
00 And he who gives to the rich, will surely come to poverty.


Sayings of the Wise

17 Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise,
00 And apply your heart to my knowledge;
18 For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you;
00 Let them all be fixed upon your lips,
19 So that your trust may be in the LORD;
00 I have instructed you today, even you.
20 Have I not written to you excellent things
00 Of counsels and knowledge,
21 That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth,
00 That you may answer words of truth
00 To those who send to you?

22 Do not rob the poor because he is poor,
00 Nor oppress the afflicted at the gate;
23 For the LORD will plead their cause,
00 And plunder the soul of those who plunder them.

24 Make no friendship with an angry man,
00 And with a furious man do not go,
25 Lest you learn his ways
00 And set a snare for your soul.

26 Do not be one of those who shakes hands in a pledge,
00 One of those who is surety for debts;
27 If you have nothing with which to pay,
00 Why should he take away your bed from under you?

28 Do not remove the ancient landmark
00 Which your fathers have set.

29 Do you see a man who excels in his work?
00 He will stand before kings;
00 He will not stand before unknown men.

The purpose of Writing the book of Proverbs was to reveal the mind of God in matters high and lofty and in common, ordinary, everyday situations. It appears that no topic escaped King Solomon's attention. Matters pertaining to personal conduct, sexual relations, business, wealth, charity, ambition, discipline, debt, child-rearing, character, alcohol, politics, revenge, and Godliness are among the many topics covered in this rich collection of wise sayings.

Without wisdom, knowledge is nothing more than an accumulation of raw facts, influenced by emotional feelings. Many highly educated people are in positions of power in the United States, but very few of those educated leaders have the wisdom needed to rule properly.

One can say that they have been educated well beyond their intelligence. A cursory look at the court system will prove my point that knowledge without wisdom will only lead to an immoral society that eventually crumbles from within. Judges are supposed to be above the fray, and immovable to emotions. Instead, the vast majority of judges today are Godless individuals who are vacant of wisdom. So their rulings are totally based upon emotional feelings.

We the people are to blame, because we ignored God's guidance in appointing our leaders. Instead of putting leaders full wisdom in power, we instead chose those who would scratch our itchy ears to lead us.

Of the 31 Proverbs, only the first 24 were written by Solomon. King Hezekiah wrote 5, Proverbs 25 to 29, Agur wrote Proverb 30, and Lemuel wrote Proverb 31. Now many believe Lemuel was in fact King Solomon and Lemuel was just a nick name his Mother, Bathsheba gave him. We are told that Solomon write over 3000 Proverbs and composed 1000 songs, but the only Proverbs God decided to preserve for us are Proverbs 1-24. Like the New Testament epistle by James, it is impossible to get a chronological outline for a study since they all bounce from subject to subject.

Along with my daily routine of reading the Bible, I try to read through the book of Proverbs once a Month. It's an easy task when you consider there are 31 Proverbs. So all you need to know is what day of the Month it is. In the Months that have 30 days, or in the case of February, I just double up by reading more than one two proverb so I can begin the next month with Proverb 1 on the first again.